Question:
Believe me i am not trying to copy or "boycot" jamforchrist's thread, its just that he was talking about a head and i talking the whole amp or stack. This, and this are what i'm looking at. Now these are more so "dreams" of mine because i can no way afford them. I've had a thread about getting a new amp, but i'm just kind of wondering if anybody has experience with kustom, those two i mentioned preferably. I have a little kustom amp, but its only a 10w but i've got nothing against it. Kustom prices seem to be a little cheaper than others also, which is what i like.
Answer:
I've got nothing against either of those except this...
is there anything that you do or that you see yourself doing that will necessitate a 100W solid state half or full stack?
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve I've got nothing against either of those except this...
is there anything that you do or that you see yourself doing that will necessitate a 100W solid state half or full stack?
well like i said those are just dreams of mine, and i'm not quite in a band yet so i wouldn't need them, even if i was in a band i wouldn't need something that big unless we did alot of concerts i guess, but the bigger the better.
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Originally Posted by earlessdog well like i said those are just dreams of mine, and i'm not quite in a band yet so i wouldn't need them, even if i was in a band i wouldn't need something that big unless we did alot of concerts i guess, but the bigger the better. the Quad Jr. halfstack is $560 new. the Quad 100 full stack would go about $880 New...honestly, at those prices you can dream MUCH bigger
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agreed, at those prices you can be well into tube land...especially if we're talking used MTS territory...
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Originally Posted by thesteve the Quad Jr. halfstack is $560 new. the Quad 100 full stack would go about $880 New...honestly, at those prices you can dream MUCH bigger
but 560 seems like a good price, tube amps are so much money! Although i really want a tube amp, it seems like tube amps are so small in size, i want something big that can gives loud music to a good width and length. i don't want a tube amp thats a foot high and a foot wide that can still blow a SS amp 6 feet tall into space, it just doesn't seem right. Whats a good tube amp in the price range of those kustoms that is pretty big in size, or some stack with a head? Now this is getting off topic of kustom amps but i can't help it, i must know!
Answer:
Here we go again. You don't need a tube amp, BUT...
whatever type you get, SS or tube, get a good one. With your price range, I could get a Traynor YCV 50 (tube) but not a Line 6 Vetta II (SS). So, tube amps are not necessarily cheaper. Do your homework, whatever you do.
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Originally Posted by earlessdog but 560 seems like a good price, tube amps are so much money! Although i really want a tube amp, it seems like tube amps are so small in size, i want something big that can gives loud music to a good width and length. i don't want a tube amp thats a foot high and a foot wide that can still blow a SS amp 6 feet tall into space, it just doesn't seem right. Whats a good tube amp in the price range of those kustoms that is pretty big in size, or some stack with a head?
When I dream, I dream much higher than $880 . If I wanted a huge stack, it'd be something like a Bogner or Rivera or something like that.
I think there are Carvin MTS, Legacy, and V3 stacks that might go used for around $1K or less. But that's a heckuvalot of power.
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Yeah, if your gonna by a $880 dollar ss stack new, you could get a carvin high-gain full stack new, or used for a difference of about 200 - 500 dollars more expensive.
But, I totaly get the thing about looks. You dont want to walk on stage with a tiny little combo amp, because that would look pathetic in some ways. A half stack, or full stack on the other hand.....
The real advantage tho that I see an SS amp having over a Tube amp is that with a tube amp you have to crank the power-section to get the full warm sound out of it, but with a SS amp, once you turn it on its power section is running at its full sonic potential, and cranking it wont make a really big difference, except that you will be pushing your speakers harder.
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Originally Posted by demon_hunter Yeah, if your gonna by a $880 dollar ss stack new, you could get a carvin high-gain full stack new, or used for a difference of about 200 - 500 dollars more expensive.
But, I totaly get the thing about looks. You dont want to walk on stage with a tiny little combo amp, because that would look pathetic in some ways. A half stack, or full stack on the other hand.....
The real advantage tho that I see an SS amp having over a Tube amp is that with a tube amp you have to crank the power-section to get the full warm sound out of it, but with a SS amp, once you turn it on its power section is running at its full sonic potential, and cranking it wont make a really big difference, except that you will be pushing your speakers harder. well, for most high-gain (modern metalcore, nu-metal, etc.) you don't want too much power-amp warmth. Most, if not all of your drive is coming from the multiple pre-amp gain stages. this is why SS amps have done so well in those styles of music.
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I see alot of local shows (my old band is now a touring band)...( http://www.meryll.net ) and I have respect for the guys who show up with 1x12 combos.

Im still friends with these guys (a few of them were in my wedding). I go to alot of their shows and many times there are hardcore/punk/screamo opening bands with huge rigs that just dont sound good. just sloppy playing and sucky screaming/singing. As my friends set up I hear many times "look at those little amps". They then begin to play and a more melodious sound is heard than all the opening acts together could have thought of.
Not to say huge amps are bad, or hardcore/screamo is bad (I am a fan of both). Image is important to alot of people. But its always funny to see those peoples faces after they hear the sounds.
umm....so....yeah
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Originally Posted by demon_hunter But, I totaly get the thing about looks. You dont want to walk on stage with a tiny little combo amp, because that would look pathetic in some ways. A half stack, or full stack on the other hand.....
Here's little anecdote. I went to a local concert once, and the opening band wasn't that great, and the guitarist used this solid state Crate 1x12. The next band had a lot more skilled guitarist, but he played through a 100W Marshall JCM half-stack. The room was small, and the half-stack was WAY too loud. The guitarist with the Crate 1x12 sounded a lot better in his band's mix, and my friends and I actually left for a little while because the second band's half-stack was killing our ears.
Of course, both bands basically sucked, so it was a crappy concert, but the moral of the story is save your audience, and use a sane amplifier.
I use a lovely little Yamaha 1x12 that can crank out heavy metal like any stack. I don't care about my amp's image, it's beastly.
And you generally want to avoid a lot of power amp saturation when playing heavy music, because that translates to mush. When you're playing hi-gain, the tube amp will generally sound great at all but the lowest volumes.
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Originally Posted by Rainer. Here's little anecdote. I went to a local concert once, and the opening band wasn't that great, and the guitarist used this solid state Crate 1x12. The next band had a lot more skilled guitarist, but he played through a 100W Marshall JCM half-stack. The room was small, and the half-stack was WAY too loud. The guitarist with the Crate 1x12 sounded a lot better in his band's mix, and my friends and I actually left for a little while because the second band's half-stack was killing our ears. here's another anecdote. My guitarist uses a Peavey Classic 50 410 (50W 4x10" combo)...our "sister" band (a band we've become good friends with) has a guitarist with a Krank Chadwick (2x12). We played a show with a band that was going on a big tour with Anberlin called The Chemistry. Because they were getting a big enough image to play with Anberlin I was pretty excited about seeing them...
when they rolled their gear in, I was even more stoked...one of the guitarists had a Bogner Ectasy through a 4x12"...I'd hadn't heard a Bogner live since Five Iron Frenzy...well when the Chemistry finally played, I was outside...I went inside for about 5 minutes and went back outside...the tone was generic at best and their overall setup was SUPER LOUD...I could barely stand being in there...I basically left at the end of the night wondering how such a boring band could afford such expensive gear.
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Actually, I didnt say to get PT saturation; just to turn it up enough to make it a little warm (to me warmth is not neccessarily distortion, but the point where the tubes will sound their best).
Also, where you stand in a concert makes a big difference. If you stand more to one side of the stage, then of course you're gonna catch alot of the volume from one of the stacks, and very little of the other instruments. Thats going to be true regardless of the size of the amp, or skill of the guitarist.
Also, for situations like that, you could go with a set-up similar to what Scott Mellinger (and other guitarist) use, he plugs up 2 slant cabs to his amp and puts one on either side of the stage, so does Russ for that matter. That helps with the mix (if you do infact intend on using 2 cabs anyways, that is).
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Originally Posted by demon_hunter Actually, I didnt say to get PT saturation; just to turn it up enough to make it a little warm (to me warmth is not neccessarily distortion, but the point where the tubes will sound their best).
Ever really play a tube amp like that? My power tubes start breaking up around master vol. 7 on my amp, and on high gain, there really is very little tonal difference between my amp on master volumes 4 and 6. Before they get to a saturated point, power tubes really don't have a ton of tonal change after a certain point.
Also, where you stand in a concert makes a big difference. If you stand more to one side of the stage, then of course you're gonna catch alot of the volume from one of the stacks, and very little of the other instruments. Thats going to be true regardless of the size of the amp, or skill of the guitarist.
Not if you're actually outside of the room. As I said in my story, I actually left the room, and still heard excessively loud guitars. The point of the story is that the guitarists were highly insensitive to the fact that we were in a very small concert, and the 4x12s probably weren't the best tonal decision.
Also, for situations like that, you could go with a set-up similar to what Scott Mellinger (and other guitarist) use, he plugs up 2 slant cabs to his amp and puts one on either side of the stage, so does Russ for that matter. That helps with the mix (if you do infact intend on using 2 cabs anyways, that is).
It helps the mix in a big area, but I'm assuming that the original poster of this thread doesn't play large venues.